Get resourceful in solidarity with Standing Rock

Facing threats of a Dec. 5 eviction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Water Protector camps at Standing Rock have called for continued solidarity actions and donations. Now is the time to use your resources to help, to understand self-determination, and to take action to stop the pipeline.

It’s important that support efforts are responsive to calls for support from indigenous people on the front lines and in our area. With good intentions but often lacking cultural knowledge and historical education, outsiders don’t know what is best or needed. Rather than give what we think Water Protectors need, we need to listen to what is being asked of us, and take guidance from indigenous leaders on what actions are helpful.

Keep this in mind as you donate items. There is a list of most-needed supplies here that is followed by a list of all needed supplies: http://sacredstonecamp.org/supply-list/ If it’s not on this list, please do not send it.

If you don’t have money to donate or family to ask but want to contribute, you can hold a bake sale or knock on doors to raise funds for Standing Rock. Call on your creativity!

You don’t have to go to Standing Rock to be supportive. One of the most important solidarity actions we can take locally is to close accounts with the banks funding the pipeline. Once yours are closed and you've moved your money to a credit union, tell your family, friends, and neighbors about the process and why you did it. Keep an eye on Bellingham #NoDAPL Coalition Facebook page for more actions coming together as part of a national week of solidarity actions.

Disrupting the (highly profitable) deportation pipeline

Already a targeted population under the Obama Administration, undocumented immigrants stand to lose more under Trump. This month immigrant community organizers with expertise in the deeply flawed U.S. immigration system are working on educating community members about their rights and the importance of an organized community response to detentions and the threat of deportation.

Also follow NWDC Resistance on Facebook for actions happening across Western Washington relating to the immigrant detention center (a federal private prison run by GEO Group) in Tacoma, where local students and other residents caught up in the deportation pipeline are detained.

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